


Christmas in Vermont

by Ellsey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas Fluff, F/M, FitzSimmons Secret Santa, Minor Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Mistletoe, Phil and Melinda are Daisy's Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 18:53:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22002784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellsey/pseuds/Ellsey
Summary: Jemma Simmons is looking forward to spending her first Christmas in the US with her parents at a cute little inn in Manchester, Vermont. Her lab partner, Leo Fitz, needs some last minute help with a project though. Between him and the weather, Christmas may turn out very different from what she had planned.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Christmas in Vermont

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift for tumblr user lnhumanity for the Fitzsimmons Secret Santa Exchange for 2019. I hope you enjoy it!

Jemma Simmons was excited. In just a few short hours she would be off to meet her parents in Manchester, Vermont for her very first Christmas in the States. Jemma had just started graduate school at MIT that fall, and her parents had offered to fly over and meet her for the holidays. Jemma had been a bit homesick, so she hoped seeing her parents would help her to recharge and be ready for the next semester.

She just had one minor thing to deal with. Her lab partner.

At the beginning of the semester, one of her professors had paired her Leo Fitz. Jemma still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him yet. He was a bit quiet, kind of cute, and very Scottish. He was extremely intelligent (which Jemma enjoyed), but he had just asked her for a last minute meeting before the holiday break (which Jemma did not enjoy). She had agreed to meet him simply because she couldn’t think of a nice way to say no. 

So instead of finishing up her packing, here she was knocking on an apartment door and hoping for a short meeting. 

Fitz opened the door and smiled at Jemma. “Hey, thanks for coming. Come on in.”

Jemma looked around as she went into his apartment. It was small and a bit messy. Pretty much what she expected of him.

She sat down on a chair at looked at Fitz expectantly. “So what did you want to talk to me about right before the holiday?” 

He looked at her with bright eyes. “I’ve got an absolutely brilliant idea for the extra credit project. I know neither of us really need the extra credit, butIt wouldn’t take us long. Also it would really impress our professor.. We could do it this afternoon easily then enjoy the break.”

Fitz handed Jemma a paper with some typed up notes for his idea. It seemed pretty straightforward. He was correct in saying it would be impressive, and Jemma definitely wanted to impress her professors.

There was just one major problem. 

“This all looks really great, but I’m meeting my parents in Vermont for the holiday and one of my roommates is giving me a ride on her way home. Unfortunately I have to leave when she does in about 2 hours.  _ And _ I haven’t finished packing.” She handed the paper back to Fitz. “Sorry. It really does look like a good idea.”

His face fell a little, then he got that excited look back. “What if I offered to drive you to Vermont?”

“You have a car?”

“Yeah, for some reason my mum thought it very important that I have a car here. I had to come early to take driving lessons and everything.” Fitz stopped and shrugged. “You know mums.”

Jemma laughed. “That I do. You would really drive me all the way to Vermont? That’ll be a pretty lengthy trip for you both ways.”

“Sure,” Fitz said. “That’s no problem if I get to work with you even longer. I mean, work on this idea with you. If we leave by 3pm I could get back just in time for bed.”

There was a pause while Jemma considered this proposition. “Well, I suppose that could work. Are you sure though? That’s really out of your way.”

“It’s no problem at all,” said Fitz, looking relieved.

Fitz and Jemma worked very well together. Their ideas seemed to complement each other, and they quickly worked through what Fitz had sketched out earlier. They continued to expand beyond this initial idea until Jemma looked at the clock and saw that it was 2:30 pm. 

“Oh!” she said with a gasp. “I need to finish packing.”

“Do you want me to drive you to your apartment?” Fitz asked.

“That would be wonderful. Then we can be on our way from there.”

Fitz drove Jemma to her apartment and waited patiently while she finished getting things together. She had been a bit concerned about the drive to Vermont as Fitz seemed very quiet, but it turned out that he had quite a lot to say. Soon they were on their way, chatting the whole time.

The time seemed to speed by, but Jemma noticed that the weather seemed to be getting worse.

“Fitz, did you check the weather before we left?” she asked him as she peered out at the snow falling.

He made a face. “No, I thought you had looked it up.”

Jemma pressed her lips together. The snow was getting pretty heavy, and the wind looked like it was picking up. “Well, let’s hope that things stay clear at least until we get to the inn.”

By the time they got to Manchester, Vermont, the visibility was pretty poor. Jemma couldn’t help but worry. How was Fitz going to drive back to Cambridge in this?

Fitz seemed to be having similar thoughts as he pulled up in front of the inn. “Is there a blizzard warning or something? It looks awful.”

Jemma just shrugged and worried some more. They both got out, and Fitz helped Jemma bring her bags in. The inn was just as beautiful as the pictures had been.There was a petite young woman with dark hair manning the registration desk. She looked up at them with bored disinterest as they walked towards her.

“Welcome to the historic Sky Blue Inn, Manchester’s premier Christmas destination,” she said in a flat voice. “My name is Daisy. How can I help you?” It was clear she had given this speech many times before. Her eyes traveled over Fitz and Jemma. “So what’s your deal? Honeymooners? First Christmas together?” Daisy paused as Fitz and Jemma turned to each other with bewildered faces. “Is this your first overnight trip together?? I mean bold choice, but also really weird.”

Jemma suddenly realized what Daisy was trying to ask them. “Oh, no,” Jemma said. “We’re not together. He’s just a friend. Who drove me here. And is supposed to drive back home tonight.”

Daisy gave a loud laugh. “Ummm, no, your friend is not going to make it anywhere tonight. There’s a blizzard blowing out there right now.”

Fitz kind of sputtered for a bit, but he only managed to get out the words “my car.”

“Don’t worry about that, we’ve got it covered. MANSERVANT!” At Daisy’s yell, an older man came through a door behind the desk. 

“Daisy,” the man said with a sigh, “I’ve asked you not to call me manservant. Or butler. Or any of the other things you’ve called me.” He turned to Fitz and Jemma. “Hi, I’m Phil Coulson, the co-owner of this fine establishment. How can I help you?”

“This guy needs his car put up for the night,” Daisy told Phil. “And I know how much you looove driving in this kind of weather.”

Phil glanced out the front window and cringed. “Hmm, I think this might be a job for your mother.”

“What might be a job for her mother?” came a voice from a side room. A beautiful woman with a steely glare came into the room. Phil and Daisy both seemed to cower a bit at her look.

“Well, the weather is looking much worse, and this young man needs his car parked in the back,” Phil offered.

The older woman rolled her eyes. She held out a hand to Fitz. “Key please.”

Fitz looked hesitant, but at the slightest change in look from the woman he quickly handed over the keys. She disappeared out the front door silently.

Phil gave them a slight smile. “My wife will take care of your car, and my daughter here will take care of your room. Let me know if you need anything else.” With that he went back into the door he had come out of.

“So, do either of you actually have a reservation?” she asked them with raised eyebrows.

Jemma stepped forward. “Oh yes, it’s me. Jemma Simmons. I’m meeting my parents here, although they won’t be coming until tomorrow.”

Daisy typed a few things on the computer in front of her. “Yep, here it is.” She looked up at the two of them. “The good news is you got our last room. The bad news is that there is only one bed in the room.”

“What?” Jemma gasped. She saw Fitz turning bright red, but he couldn’t seem to get anything out. 

“I’m just kidding,” Daisy said, laughing hysterically. “Of course there’s two beds in there. For you and your parents. That would have been super awkward otherwise. Follow me please.”

Jemma flushed with embarrassment. Fitz seemed to still be in shock, having said nothing since Daisy declared he would be staying. They followed Daisy up some stairs and down a hall to the door at the end. Daisy unlocked the room and let them in.

It was a beautiful room, containing two good sized beds and a couple of cushy chairs. It had a window looking out over a beautiful field.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave it to you guys to pick beds. Or maybe you want to share? I hear it gets pretty cool in here at night.” Daisy was clearly enjoying herself. “Let me know if you need anything,” she said as she walked toward the door.

Fitz cleared his throat. “Actually,” he started, looking embarrassed. “I, um, I didn’t know I’d be staying here, so I didn’t bring any clothes.”

Daisy looked sorry for him. “I’m sure Pops has some things you can borrow. Let me go ask.”

Jemma and Fitz sat on opposite beds looking at each other awkwardly.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Jemma said to Fitz.

He shook his head. “No, no, it was all my fault. I pushed you to stay later than you wanted.”

“If it’s any consolation, I had a really good time working with you.”

Fitz gave her a small smile. “Actually, that does help quite a bit.”

A knock on the door was followed by Daisy bringing in some clothes for Fitz to wear. “Momma May says to put your clothes in a bag outside the door, and we’ll launder them tonight.”

“Thanks,” Fitz said.

Daisy looked at both of them with a hint of a smile. “Well, have a nice night. Don’t get into too much trouble you two,” she said as she backed out of the door.

They were both silent for the rest of the evening. They took turns using the small bathroom, then both went to their beds. Jemma turned last lamp off with a quick, “Good night Fitz.”

The next morning, the weather had not improved any. If anything it looked a bit worse. Melinda May, the woman who had parked Fitz’s car yesterday, knocked on the door to bring Fitz his freshly laundered clothes. She looked at Jemma and said, “We’ve had a call from your parents. They’re still in the UK. All flights have been canceled, so I’m afraid they won’t be here anytime soon.”

Jemma’s face fell. “That’s unfortunate. And judging by the view, Fitz isn’t going anywhere today either.”

Melinda shook her head. “You’re stuck here I’m afraid. We have plenty of activities planned for the guests today though. You’re welcome to join any of them.” With that she left the room.

“Well,” Fitz said after a short silence, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go see what’s going on. It’s not like we have much else to do.”

“It could be fun,” Jemma said with a slight nod.

They went downstairs to see Daisy playing waitress to a small dining room. Daisy’s eyes lit up when she saw Jemma and Fitz.

“Hey guys,” she said with a wave, “come and get some breakfast.”

As they sat down, Daisy handed them two pieces of paper. “This is our menu and a list of the day’s events. Some of it may look kind of dull, but it’s actually pretty fun.”

“Thank you,” Jemma and Fitz said together.

“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes to take your orders, so make sure to check out the menu first,” Daisy told them as she flitted away to another table.

They both ordered a basic breakfast. It was very tasty, and Daisy said she would convey their compliments to the chef, her dad Phil.

Jemma had her doubts about whether she could really fill the day, but it turned out Daisy was correct about this as well. She did end up having fun. First, Fitz and she decorated some Christmas cookies. There were gingerbread and sugar cookies already cut out for them. There were also tons of decorations and things to add to the cookies, and Jemma soon found herself in an escalating decoration war with Fitz. Their designs kept getting more and more intricate, and Jemma couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much.

Next, the entire inn joined together in one room to sing holiday music together. Melinda played the piano while Phil led the singing. Jemma stood very close to Fitz because they had to share a music book. Fitz had a nice, light baritone when singing, and Jemma enjoyed listening to him very much. She thought their voices blended very well.

Perhaps the most fun activity that day was one unique to this particular inn. They had only decorated the lobby and guest rooms, but for a few days before Christmas they would have the guests join them in decorating one room per day. Today the room was the library, and Jemma and Fitz spent just as much time looking through books as decorating the room. They talked and debated and had a fabulous time together.

After a wonderful dinner with the rest of the guests, Fitz and Jemma retired to their room. They spent the evening watching the telly and talking. Jemma found Fitz so easy to talk to once she got him out of the lab.

“You know, you’re much more talkative since we got here,” Jemma told him.

“Ah well,” Fitz started, looking uncomfortable. “To be honest, I was a bit scared to talk to you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re you. You’re so smart and talented and I find myself listening to you talk and thinking about all the things we could work on together.” Fitz paused. “Does that seem strange?”

“Not really,” Jemma said with a small laugh. “I think I’ve been rather intimidated by you as well. You just seem to know the answer to basically everything, and you’ve always seemed a bit hard to crack.”

They both laughed and found that any awkwardness between them had disappeared. They talked long into the night, sharing their hopes and dreams. Jemma told Fitz about how she was thinking of pursuing an MD/PhD. Fitz told Jemma how he loved to stare at the stars and was sure he could discover something wonderful out there. Eventually they both drifted to sleep, forgetting that they were stranded.

The next day was Christmas Eve. The storm had finally snowed itself out, and Jemma talked to her parents. Because of all the delays, they hadn’t managed to get a flight out yet. They were sure they could get one and get there on Christmas Day though. One the one hand Jemma was sad that her parents wouldn’t make it there for all the celebrations, but on the other hand she was having a wonderful time with Fitz. Now that the weather was better she supposed that he’d want to leave as well.

Jemma was quiet all through breakfast, thinking about how lonely Christmas would be on her own. Fitz soon cleared his throat.

“So, I was thinking about your problem Jemma.”

“My problem?”

“Well, no one should have to spend Christmas Eve alone, and since your parents won’t make it here before tomorrow, I thought maybe I could stay another night. If that’s alright with you of course.”

Jemma’s face immediately lit up. “Oh Fitz, that would be wonderful.” She paused for a bit before going on. “Only, I don’t want to disrupt your plans. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

“Plans?” Fitz said with a laugh. “I don’t actually have plans for Christmas. My mum couldn’t afford to come out here, and she couldn’t manage to scrape money together for me to fly back there. Probably because she bought me this bloody car. Anyway, I’ve already had a much better holiday than I had anticipated.”

“Are you sure? I would really enjoy having you here,” Jemma said with a smile.

“I’m positive.”

After breakfast they spent some time in the library playing chess. Jemma had always considered herself a good chess player, but she met her match in Fitz. The both of them always seemed to be anticipating the other’s moves. 

Fitz stared deep into Jemma’s eyes before making his next move. 

“Are you trying to distract me with your beautiful blue eyes?” Jemma asked him.

“I don’t know. Am I? Or are you trying to distract me by complimenting my eyes?”

“Is it working?” Jemma said with narrowed eyes.

“No, because I’m basically constantly distracted by you, so it makes no difference to me when planning my next move.”

“What if I said I knew what your next move would be?” Jemma asked him.

“What if I did something unexpected to throw you off your game?” Fitz retorted.

“Like what?”

“Like ask you out on a date.” Fitz didn’t look her in the eye, choosing to stare at the chessboard.

“Would you really fake asking me out to win a chess game?” 

“Who says I’m faking it?”

Jemma worked her mouth for a few minutes trying to think of an answer, but they were distracted by Daisy coming into the library.

“Hey guys, I was wondering if you wanted to help me with a pretty big task,” Daisy said. She stopped and looked at them with a strange look on her face. “Or am I interrupting something?”

Jemma gave a slight shake of the head. “No, no, you’re not interrupting anything. What do you need help with?”

Daisy looked between the two of them once more, but then appeared to decide to just follow their lead. “Well, we have a small pile of gifts that some of the parents staying here with their kids have purchased, and we also give them a few things from the inn. I was wondering if you could help me wrap them.”

Fitz and Jemma looked at each other and then nodded in unison. 

“Sounds like fun,” Fitz said.

Fitz was again correct. It was tons of fun for them. Daisy took them to her personal bedroom, turned on some cheesy Christmas movies, got them some snacks, and set out the things they needed to wrap. The three of them chatted while they wrapped, getting to know each other better. Daisy was an absolute blast. She was a computer science major, but she was doing a lot of work online right now. 

“Yeah, my parents adopted me when I was a young girl,” Daisy explained. “They have been the best parents ever, really, but I wasn’t really sure I was really into the whole inn thing. I ran off to college at the first chance I had. Then Dad got really sick for a bit, and we were afraid he wouldn’t make it. So I decided to do some online courses and come back here to spend some more time with the fam.”

“Oh no,” Jemma said, “is he going to be alright?”

“He is. Six months ago he got a clean bill of health,” Daisy said with a smile. “I’m really glad. I mean, I’m not sure what Mom would do without him.”

When they were done, Fitz and Jemma went to eat lunch while Daisy had to serve them once again. That afternoon they were decorating another room in the inn. Daisy told them that is was the parlor today, and it was Daisy’s favorite room in the entire inn.

They went to the parlor and saw the enormous Christmas tree. The room looked amazing already. Phil and Melinda led the rest of the guests into the room as well.

“Daisy,” Jemma said as she saw their new friend come in,”does this room even need to be decorated at all? It looks fabulous.”

“Oh, there are a few final touches we need to add,” Daisy said with a sly smile.

First there were stockings to be hung. Everyone staying there got one, plus the Coulson-May family. There wasn’t enough room on the fireplace mantle for all of them, so they used hooks that were hung around the room for this very purpose. Fitz and Jemma hung theirs last, putting them next to each other. 

“There’s just one more thing that needs to be done,” Daisy announced. “Fitz and Jemma, do you think you could hang this on that hook in the doorway?”

Without even looking, Fitz took the small bundle from Daisy. He walked over to the doorway and hung what looked like a small bunch of leaves and berries. Jemma walked over with him even though it looked like he didn’t really need help. Fitz reached up and hung it neatly from the hook.

They heard Daisy call out behind them. “Oops, both of you are under the mistletoe. I think you know what that means!”

Fitz and Jemma looked at each other with wide eyes. 

“You do know what that means right?” Daisy asked them, coming closer. “It means you have to kiss.”

Fitz immediately looked concerned. “I, umm, Jemma you don’t have to…” He seemed unable to get anything else out.

Phil saw Fitz’s concern and quickly said, “You don’t have to kiss. You can’t help that you were tricked into it.”

“Yes you do,” Melinda said very seriously. “You can’t escape the mistletoe. It’s a rule.”

Jemma made a split second decision. “Well, I think we have to satisfy the mistletoe.”

“I think you might be correct,” Fitz said with a small laugh.

Jemma lifted on her toes and gave Fitz a peck on the lips. She smiled at him as Daisy gave a cheer. “Does that work?” Jemma asked.

Fitz smiled broadly. “It works for me.”

For a moment they forgot that anyone else was there. They couldn’t stop smiling at each other, lost in their own little world. Daisy inserted herself between them to show them a picture she took of them in that moment.

“I think that one’s definitely going on the inn’s website,” Daisy said with a satisfied smile. “It screams two people falling in love.”

“Say, Daisy, do you suppose that you and I could go shopping for a bit?” Jemma asked. “I need some help with some female stuff.”

Daisy looked a bit confused, but she just said, “Sure.”

Phil, overhearing this, seemed to know exactly what Jemma was thinking. “Well,” he said, “I could use some help with some things around here. Maybe Fitz could help me out while you two go out.”

“That sounds perfect,” Jemma replied with gratitude.

As they left the inn, Daisy asked, “So what do you really need help with?”

“I want to get a gift for Fitz for Christmas.”

“Ohhh, this is fun! What were you thinking?”

“I’m not sure actually. But I’ll know it when I see it. What the best place for something unique?”

Daisy took her to a small antique shop, and immediately Jemma found the perfect gift. There, on display, was an old brass telescope. Jemma quickly checked the price and refrained from cheering out loud when she saw it was exactly where she needed it to be. She quickly bought the telescope, and Daisy and she snuck back into Daisy’s room to wrap it.

The rest of Christmas Eve was spent merrily playing games with the rest of the guests. Before they knew it, Phil was whisking everyone off to bed with threats that Santa couldn’t come if they weren’t in their rooms.

Christmas morning was quite a production. Phil knocked on everyone’s doors, leading them all down to the dining room by candlelight. There they had a very festive Christmas breakfast with loads of food. It seemed to cover a variety of traditions with special dishes from all over the world. Daisy told them that she had stayed up late with her mom folding the dumplings together. Jemma and Fitz were surprised to discover there was even some of their breakfast favorites from home, but Daisy explained that Phil always tried to make things special for their Christmas guests. After breakfast, they were sent back to their rooms where gifts had been laid out on their beds. 

Fitz and Jemma were both surprised to see a small pile for each of them. They each had some pencils and stationary with the inn’s logo stamped on them from the Coulson clan. Daisy left them a note that explained that her family didn’t have time to shop for them, but they didn’t want them to have nothing to open. She also suggested they were useful for writing love notes. Jemma just laughed while Fitz seemed to turn bright red.

Jemma watched nervously as Fitz reached for the gift she had bought for him. He read the note that she put on it aloud:

Dear Fitz, 

Thank you so much for being my companion the past few days. I know this isn’t what either of us planned, but I’ve had fun anyway. I saw this in the store and thought of you. I know you will truly find something wonderful out there someday.

Love,

Jemma

Fitz unwrapped the telescope and just held it in his hands silently. Jemma was worried that he didn’t like it, but when he looked at her she could see the joy in his face.

“Thank you so much for this. I didn’t expect anything, truly, and yet this is somehow the greatest gift I could have gotten. Mostly because it’s from you.”

Jemma smiled broadly at this. She was so pleased that it took her a moment to see that she had one more gift on the bed.

“What’s this?” she asked. She read the tag and saw that it was from Fitz. She unwrapped the gift to see a book that she had been dying to read. “Fitz, wow. How did you know I wanted this? And when did you get it? You never left the inn yesterday.”

Fitz looked a bit embarrassed. “Ah well, you know, you had been talking about it for quite a while in class. I, uh, I actually got it before we came here.”

“You did?”

“Yeah,” Fitz said, face reddening. “I just wanted to thank you for being such a good lab partner, and also maybe...if I got enough nerve...ask you out.”

Jemma launched herself at Fitz, planting her lips firmly on his. Fitz responded enthusiastically and began to wrap his arms around her when a knock on the door startled them. They jumped apart and just stared at each other until the person knocked again. Jemma ran to the door and quickly opened it, expecting to see Daisy. It wasn’t Daisy though. It was her parents.

“Mum! Dad! You’re here!” Jemma said, surprised. 

Jemma’s mum quickly wrapped her into a hug. “Oh Jemma, we’re finally here. It’s so good to see you.”

Jemma’s dad walked over to Fitz and shook his hand, “You must be this Fitz Jemma has been telling us about. Thank you so much for taking care of our girl the past few days,” he said.

“Oh no, you’ve got it all wrong,: Fitz said with a shake of the head. “Your daughter looks after herself just fine. I was merely here to keep her company.” He paused for a moment, taking in the happy reunited family. “Well, I guess I should get going. It’s a bit of a drive back home.”

Jemma opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped herself. The truth was that Jemma didn’t want Fitz to leave, but she also didn’t see how she could expect him to stay. So instead she just silently watched Fitz collect the few things he had to take home with him. It didn’t take long.

Fitz shook hands with Jemma’s dad again, got a hug from Jemma’s mum, and then turned to face Jemma herself. “Well, I guess this is goodbye for now.”

“May I walk you to your car at least?” Jemma asked him.

“Sure,” Fitz said with a nod.

They both walked downstairs where Phil was manning the front desk. Fitz asked for his car to be brought to the front. 

Jemma looked around and saw that the parlor was empty. She pulled Fitz into the room to talk to him briefly. 

“Look, Fitz, I’m not sure what’s going on here. But I do know that I’ve had more fun with you the past couple days than I have had in a long time, maybe ever. I know everything was weird and confusing, but the one thing that does make sense is that I want to spend more time with you when I get back to school. Do you think that’s possible?”

Fitz smiled at her and said, “I think that is very possible.” He paused and looked up. “Oh look, it’s the mistletoe.”

“So it is,” Jemma said, also looking up.

“May I?” 

It was Jemma’s turn to smile. “Of course.”

Fitz leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss full of the promise of more to come. Phil opened the front door and let them know that Fitz’s car was there. Fitz quickly got his things in the car, gave Jemma one last wave, and then pulled away to finally make his return drive home.

Jemma stood in the doorway for a bit to wave sadly as Fitz drove away, and then returned to her parents for their much delayed Christmas celebration.

_ One Year Later _

“Well, here we are,” Fitz said as they pulled up to the inn. They both got out and were quickly welcomed by Daisy, who had been eagerly waiting for them.

“It’s about time you two got here!” she said while grabbing them both into a hug. She helped them get their things out of the car. “Wow, you have way more stuff than last year.”

“That’s because I actually plan on staying this year,” Fitz said.

“Well that’s good to know,” said Jemma airily. “I’d hate to be stuck here all alone for Christmas.”

Once Jemma had returned back to school a year ago, they had been inseparable. It had been the most fun year of Jemma’s life. They had kept in touch with Daisy too, who had even come to visit them at school. When Daisy had suggested they come up for Christmas again this year, Fitz and Jemma had both jumped at the chance.

“I’m afraid your room is quite a bit smaller this year,” Daisy was telling them. “Mom said I can only comp you so much. And there really is only one bed,” she added with a suggestive tone. Fitz and Jemma just laughed at her.

This year they spent a lot of time helping Daisy and her family with all the festivities. They felt it was probably best to try and earn their keep, no matter how many times Daisy told them her parents were fine with them staying there. On Christmas Eve Daisy said she had a very special task for them.

“I made sure to save this part just for you guys,” she said with a sly smile as she pulled out some mistletoe.

“I think we can handle this,” Jemma said as she took the plant from Daisy.

They made quick work of it, and Fitz looked up happily and said, “I think we have to kiss now. Isn’t that the rule?”

“The rule hasn’t changed,” said Melinda with a curt nod. “You have to satisfy the mistletoe.”

Fitz didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly put his arms around Jemma and gave her a meaningful kiss. As they pulled apart Jemma couldn’t help but think what a difference a year makes. She had a feeling this was just the first in a long line of Christmas kisses to come.

“Happy Christmas Fitz,” she said, smiling at him.

“Happy Christmas Jemma.”


End file.
